By Kymberly Martin
Gerry Harvey calls for a dictatorship.
A hung Parliament would be the worst possible outcome for business, according to National Retail Association acting CEO, Ian Winterburn.“We had very much hoped for a strong result and a clear mandate for one side of politics to get on with the job of governing.”
Meanwhile, Harvey Norman CEO, Gerry Harvey, has called for the country to install a dictator. In a report in the Daily Telegraph, Harvey said the nation was living beyond its means but claimed that neither side of politics could do anything about it because of the prolonged instability in Canberra. “Neither side can do anything because the minute they do they are hammered. The only cure we have is to have a dictator like in China, or something like that. Our democracy at the moment is not working.”
He said the last prime minister who was able to run the country effectively was John Howard, and the nation has been in a “state of constant turmoil” since 2007. “In that period we have had five prime ministers and New Zealand’s had one. With what is happening in England, Europe and America, there is a great deal of dissatisfaction with mainstream politics and the people are showing their frustration.” He declined to comment further on the election to Appliance Retailer.
According to Winterburn while Prime Minister Turnbull has claimed he will be able to form government, he may struggle to pass some of the more business-friendly aspects of his policies, such as corporate tax cuts and an increase in the instant asset write-off threshold. He said it was disappointing that the task of reinstating the Australian Building and Construction Commission, the rationale for the double dissolution in the first place now appears almost impossible. “While this does not directly affect retail, the cost of construction flows through to leasing costs and directly to the bottom line of retail businesses in shopping centres. “It would have been good to see some genuine reform in that area,” he added.
“Some weeks ago I expressed a hope that regardless of who won the election we could go three years with the same Prime Minister. Australians are sick of the leadership merry-go-round that we have experienced since 2007. It’s been 10 years of turmoil, and I was hopeful that we could put it behind. Unfortunately, the make-up of the Parliament seems destined to keep this cycle of uncertainty continuing.”
On a positive note, he said, the election of the former CEO of the NRA, Trevor Evans, to the House of Representatives as the Member for Brisbane, was good news. “As the NRA chairman indicated a couple of months ago when Evans stood down to contest the election, retail will fare well from having someone in the Parliament who understands the challenges faced by small businesses and the policy settings needed for retail to succeed.”